Less than half of complaints lodged against the trust which runs HRI and Calderdale Royal were dealt with on time last year.

And in one month Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust (CHFT) closed less than a third of complaints within its target time.

While NHS guidelines state that complaints should be resolved within six months, CHFT aims to close complaints within two months of the complaint being lodged or an incident occurring. The trust aims to tackle less serious complaints within 25 days.

However, CHFT resolved less than half (49%) of complaints within its target time, according to trust figures.

And in April 2015 – and coincidentally in April 2016 – the trust closed less than a third (30%) of complaints with the target time.

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Local NHS campaigner Terry Hallworth said the poor figures showed ‘contempt’ for patients.

Mr Hallworth, of Holmfirth, said: “This clearly demonstrates how CHFT ignores the public and treats them with contempt.

“This was also demonstrated during the Right Care Right Time Right Place consultation drop-ins when questions weren’t answered and information was not sent.”

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CHFT experienced a modest increase (1.3%) in the number of complaints received between 2014/15 and 2015/2016, rising from 617 to 625.

Andrea McCourt, from CHFT’s Patient Advice and Complaints team, said: “We have recently undertaken work to improve the overall quality of our responses to complaints so people receive a full and detailed response to the issues they have raised.

“We introduced a robust quality checking process which has led to a delay in responding to some people who have complained.